Let's Go on a Bear Hunt!

So goes a song we often sang with the kids as we bussed them from inner-city Chicago to Hammond for Sunday School.

"Let's go on a bear hunt (repeat)
Okay (repeat) Let's go (repeat)" . . . and so on and so forth until we came to an obstacle. Then,
"Can't go over it (repeat)
Can't go under it (repeat)
Can't go 'round it (repeat)
Gotta go through it."

Don't know why but that song always comes to mind when I read Psalm 18: 29, "With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall." In this great psalm, David focuses his attention on the ways God has brought him through many difficult situations.

My tendency when faced with a challenging situation is to run. I manage to do so very intelligently, so that even I am convinced that I had no other alternative but to change jobs, quit that church commitment, etc. Only in recent years have I realized this is more than a once-in-a-lifetime battleground decision; it's a repetitive habit engrained in my character. Part of this stems from the fact that I am by nature a peace-loving individual and detest any sort of conflict, without or within.

Recently I changed positions at my company, and for once I feel like I was making a wise decision, based on principle. But I wasn't in the new job two months before I felt those same old feelings stalking me. "Quit. Run. Look for another job," they whispered in my ear. For the first time though, I recognized those feelings for what they were. And God brought to mind David's experiences in Psalm 18, where with God's help, David faced difficult situations head-on. It's been an amazing revelation to learn that pressing on and working through a situation actually requires less energy than orchestrating a retreat. No excuses, persuasion or mental convincing is required. All God really needs is acknowledgement on my part of my frustration and inability to go it alone and a complete abandonment of the problem to his omniscient care and guidance.

I guess this isn't very blogful. I should be commenting on the debates perhaps (excuse me while I gag) or checking out Friday's Feast (yum)! But since this is my blog, tonight I just want to thank God for His faithfulness to me and for the new and wonderful things He's teaching me day by day.